Nick Foles breaks down "Philly Special" with former Philadelphia Eagle Chris Long
PHILADELPHIA (CBS) -- To this day, Nick Foles doesn't know why he asked Doug Pederson if the Philadelphia Eagles wanted to run "Philly Philly" in Super Bowl LII vs. the New England Patriots.
"I have no idea why I asked for 'Philly Philly' because it's 'Philly Special,'" Foles said Thursday on the "Green Light Podcast" with Chris Long, who was also on that Eagles Super Bowl team. "I thought NFL Films, like now with artificial intelligence, I know that you can create voice-overs and stuff, so part of me thinks that could've happened. But in reality, my brain was just probably in a weird state."
Foles joined Long on his podcast to break down the "Philly Special," the biggest play of his career and one of the most important in Eagles' franchise history, and much more from the magical 2017 season. The NFL ranked the "Philly Special" as the 10th greatest play in league history.
But, the play nearly didn't happen.
Foles said in practice leading up to the Super Bowl, the Eagles worked on a speed option play out of the shotgun, but they "butchered" it every time and it was awful. That speed option was the original play called on fourth-and-goal against the Patriots in Super Bowl LII until Foles pitched Pederson for them to run "Philly Special" on the sideline.
"Doug trusted me enough because he knew me enough," Foles said. "Nick is feeling this. Let's execute this. Because he could've overrode this play call. But he pauses and said, 'Let's do it.'"
The Eagles also nearly revealed the play in the NFC championship game against the Minnesota Vikings, but Foles said he tossed one of his two touchdown passes to Alshon Jeffery in that game instead, so the Birds were able to save the play for an even bigger stage.
The Eagles ran the "Philly Special" late in the second quarter with a 15-12 lead over the Patriots. Foles was lined up in the shotgun. He then moved to the right side of the offensive line behind tackle Lane Johnson and center Jason Kelce snapped the ball to running back Corey Clement.
As Clement moved to the left, he pitched the ball to backup tight end Trey Burton, who tossed the pass to Foles for the score on fourth-and-goal. After Jake Elliott made the extra point, the Birds had a 22-15 lead on the Patriots entering halftime of Super Bowl LII, and the rest is history.
Foles played the game of his life, won Super Bowl MVP and tossed three touchdowns and had 373 passing yards to go along with his receiving touchdown in the 41-33 victory, the first in Philadelphia's history.
Earlier this month, Foles announced his retirement from the NFL as an Eagle. He will officially retire from the NFL on Sept. 16, when the Eagles play their home opener at Lincoln Financial Field against the Atlanta Falcons on Monday Night Football.
"I didn't realize what this play would be for the city of Philadelphia or even the NFL," Foles said. "I just realized, like man, this play worked to put us up on the Patriots going into halftime."
